Reader’s Annotation: Taking advantage of being invisible, Calvin Schwa and Antsy’s antics include profiting off of dares, a blind love interest, and finding Schwa’s mother who disappeared into thin air.

Summary:

Until Anthony “Antsy” Bonano met Calvin Schwa after attempting to destroy indestructible dummy Manny Bullpucky, no one noticed the Schwa. Abandoned by his mother in the grocery store as a young child, forgotten by his brain damaged painter father, Schwa drifts through life invisible. Antsy soon realizes that they could capitalize on this fact, and starts charging for the Schwa’s invisible services. Until a dare at Mr. Crawley’s house goes horribly wrong and both boys are caught. Faced with either the police or to be indentured dog walkers, the boys choose the dogs. But soon Antsy is hired by Crawley to take around his granddaughter, and Antsy steels himself to be punished with the company of said granddaughter. Except Lexie turns out to be fun and attractive, and both Antsy and the Schwa, who Lexie can “see” even though she is blind, start to fall for her. This love triangle strains their friendship, and then the Schwa decides to find out the truth about what happened with his mother. The Schwa is no longer invisible, but then he disappears all together.

Evaluation:

The story started off a little slow, but the characters were quirky and endearing from the Schwa to Mr. Crawley to Antsy to Lexie. It was wonderful to see a blind character who did not struggle with being blind. The structure of the novel was easy to follow. The chapter titles were as quirky as the characters. The Schwa’s predicament seemed rather unrealistic, but the concept was intriguing. In true teenage boy fashion, the two are able to get into some mischief using the Schwa’s abilities. The plot also has some strange situations (walking 14 Afghans?, a mother running off with the Night Butcher?, buying a billboard on an abandoned freeway?). However, the underlying story of friendship and self-discovery is one that everyone can relate to. Feeling invisible is another point of entry for readers. A fun read for those who enjoy a little of the strange and wonderous.